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Methow Valley News December 20, 2000 Endangered Species No need to panic on metering plan - Publisher's Comment ~by Lee Hicks Publisher's Comment ~ by Lee Hicks No need to panic on metering plan It’s understandable that beleaguered Methow Valley irrigators would be concerned over state plans to meter water use—especially given the cost of the program. But this plan has been on the Department of Ecology’s—and the courts’—agenda for much of the 1990s. A 1993 state law cracked the whip for Ecology to begin determining how much water is used by permit and water rights holders. The Methow Valley News reported in 1999 that this case was in the works, and DOE itself attempted to forewarn water users in an announcement back then. Last week a Thurston County Superior Court judge told DOE, in effect, to begin metering as the law has said it should be doing for some time, excluding exempt wells. DOE has contended it hasn’t had the resources to police water use. The agency makes similar claims when it comes to processing water rights applications including those that would save water for instream flows and fish. The reasons for DOE’s failures aside, the court has told the agency to follow the law. The problem now is the financial burden for compliance will fall mostly on irrigators who have enough problems already in the Methow. In the lengthy negotiations to reach a fish and water agreement in the basin, all parties seem to agree that measuring how much water is actually used is a reasonable approach. The court has tightened the screws on the metering issue. It’s now time for the legislature to get busy next session and find a way to see that irrigators get some relief in complying with the decision. The board of directors of the Methow Valley Irrigation District has agreed in principle to a draft water lease with the Town of Twisp. At a Twisp Town Council meeting last Tuesday (Dec. 12) the MVID board discussed the long-negotiated lease document that would give the Town adequate water rights for its domestic use and future growth. MVID director Vaughn Jolley, who will not vote on the matter because of a conflict of interest, said the lease would be for $50 per acre/foot for between 200 and 400 acre feet per year. The council is expected to present a draft for the MVID board to vote on at either its Jan. 8 meeting or at a special meeting. Opinion | Sports |
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